The connection of the book of Ezekiel with that of Daniel

In the Book of Ezekiel we have seen the government of God on earth
fully developed in connection with Israel; whether in condemning the
sin which occasioned the judgment of that people, or in their
restoration under the authority of Christ, the Branch that should
spring from the house of David, and who, in the book of that prophet,
bears even the name of David, as the true "beloved" of God,
the description of the temple, with its whole organisation, being
given at the end. In this development we have found Nebuchadnezzar,
the head of the Gentiles, introduced as Jehovah's servant (chapters
29: 20; 30: 24) for the judgment of sinful Israel, who were rebellious
and even apostate, worshipping false gods. God had made Israel the
centre of a system of nations, peoples, and languages, that had arisen
in consequence of the judgment on Babel, and existed before God
independently of each other. The nation of Israel was doubtless very
distinct from all that surrounded it, whether as a people to whom the
true God was known, or as having in their midst the temple and the
throne of God; but, whatever the contrast might be between the
condition of Israel as a nation, and that of the other nations, still
Israel formed a part of that system of nations before God (Deut. 32:
8).

Absolute, universal dominion given to Nebuchadnezzar

In executing the judgment of God on Israel Nebuchadnezzar set aside
this whole system at once, and took its place in the absolute and
universal dominion which he had received from God. It is of this order
of things and of its consequences -- of this dominion of the head of
the Gentiles, and of the Gentile kings, in the successive phases that
characterised their history -- that the Book of Daniel treats,
bringing into notice a remnant of Israel, in the midst of this system,
and subject to this dominion. The king of Judah having been given up
into the hands of the head of the Gentiles, the royal seed is found in
the same position. The remnant becomes the especial object of the
thoughts of God revealed by His Spirit in this book.

The Spirit of prophecy and God's faithfulness

Besides the testimony rendered to Jehovah by the fact of the
faithfulness of the remnant in the midst of the idolatrous Gentiles,
two important things characterise their history as developed in this
book. The first is that the Spirit of prophecy and of understanding in
the ways of God is found in this remnant. We have seen this raised up
in Samuel, when all Israel had failed, and subsist through their whole
history under the shadow of royalty. The Spirit of prophecy now again
becomes the link of the people with God, and the only resting-place
for their faith, amid the ruin which the just judgment of God had
brought upon them. The second circumstance that characterises the
dealings of God with regard to this remnant is, that, preserved by God
through all the misfortunes into which the sins of the people had cast
them, this remnant will assuredly share the portion which God bestows
on His people according to His government and according to the
faithfulness of His promises. We find these in the first and last
chapters of the Book we are considering.

The two great divisions of Daniel

This Book is divided into two parts, which are easily
distinguished. The first ends with chapter 6, and the second with the
close of the Book, the first and last chapters having nevertheless a
separate character, as an introduction and a conclusion, respectively
making known the position of the remnant, to whom, as we have said,
the testimony of God was confided at the beginning and at the end.

The two great divisions have also a distinct character. The first
sets before us the picture of the dominion of the Gentiles, and the
different positions it would assume before God according to the human
pride which would be its animating principle. This picture contains
historical features which plainly indicate the spirit that will
animate the ruling power in its different phases; and then the
judgment of God. This division is not composed of direct revelations
to Daniel, except for the purpose of recalling Nebuchadnezzar's
dream. It is the heads of the Gentiles that are presented. It is the
external and general history of the monarchies that were to succeed
each other, or the different and successive features that would
characterise them, and their final judgment, and the substitution of
the kingdom of Christ; and especially, the course and judgment of the
one which God had Himself established, and which represents all the
others, as being invested with this character of divine
appointment. The others did but inherit providentially the throne
which God had committed to the first. It was a question between God
and Israel that gave this monarchy its supremacy. It is the spirit of
presumptuous idolatry, and of blasphemy against the God of Israel that
leads to its destruction. Chapter 6 does not give the iniquity of the
king, except as submitting to the influence of others. It is the
princes of the people who will have none but the king acknowledged as
God, and who undergo the same punishment that they sought to inflict
on those who were faithful to the Lord.

Division 2: character and conduct of Gentile heads; establishment
of a divine kingdom

The second part of the Book, which consists of communications made
by God to Daniel himself, exhibits the character of the heads of the
Gentiles in relation to the earth, and their conduct towards those who
shall acknowledge God; and at last the establishment of the divine
kingdom in the Person of the Son of man -- a kingdom possessed by the
saints. The details of God's dealings with His people at the end are
given in the last chapter. We may also remark that chapter 7 gives
essentially the history of the western power, chapter 8 that of the
eastern -- the two horns. Chapter 9, although especially regarding
Jerusalem and the people -- the moral centre of these questions, is
connected on that very account with the western power that invaded
them. From chapter 10 to the end of chapter 11 we are again in the
east, closing in with the judgment of the nations there, and the
establishment of the remnant of Israel in blessing.